Macron is blasted for dancing at a Celine Dion concert with Brigitte while France burns and rioters take to the streets
President Macron, 48, was lambasted for his carefree appearance at the Plenitude arena in Paris on Friday with wife Brigitte, 73, where the couple were seen dancing and enjoying the music in a private box.
By ELEANOR MANN and ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and OLIVIA CHRISTIE, NEWS REPORTER and PETER ALLEN
Published: 11:48 BST, 17 October 2026 | Updated: 11:40 BST, 18 October 2026
This is the moment a distraught woman was seen begging rioters in France not to loot a supermarket yesterday, as violent demonstrations against the cost of living , education standards and Emmanuel Macron's government spread across Europe.
She is heard asking 'why are you doing this' and screaming 'this is not the cause' as a group of young male rioters push past her into the smashed shop.
In the heartbreaking video, the crowd then appears to cheer as the balaclava-clad looters leave the store with arms full of stolen goods.
The shop was one of many buildings and businesses damaged in yesterday's riots, which saw more than 1,200 arrests in France as roughly 550,000 demonstrators took to the country's streets.
The iconic Limoges Town Hall, which was built in 1883 and survived both world wars, came tumbling down in a blaze after it was torched by rioters in the south-west of France.
A video seen by 1.4 million people on X showed the building, which played a significant role in the French Resistance during the Second World War , collapsing, with its bell tower engulfed in flames.
The violence across France is part of a nationwide day of action against the cost of living and widespread inequality.
There have also been almost five weeks of protests by school and university students against France's crumbling education system.
A woman is seen pleading with rioters not to loot a shop, asking: 'Why are you doing this?'
In Limoges, the iconic town hall - built in 1883 and having played a significant role in the French Resistance - burnt down on Saturday night
The historic Limoges Town Hall, pictured in 2017, was a grand Neo-Renaissance building which served briefly as the official seat of the Belgian government-in-exile in 1940
The woman was pushed aside by looters, while pleading to them: 'This is not the cause'
Demonstrators have now been joined by numerous other social groups, including the infamous Yellow Vests, or Gilets Jaunes, who brought chaos to France in 2018 over a sharp increase in diesel taxes.
Macron had called for calm last night, asking that protesters maintained 'respect for people and property'.
He will be forced to stand down in May, after completing the maximum two terms allowed for any French president.
In another shocking video from Nice, a comic book shop owner was captured trying to defend his business as looters appeared to have smashed their way into his shop.
He stepped out to confront a rioter and shouted to the crowd, but when he turned his back, the looter sprinted back and launched into a flying kick, knocking the shopkeeper to the ground.
Elsewhere in Europe, copycat protests also took hold on the streets of Italy and Belgium.
A rally against the cost of living took place in Milan, Italy, which saw numerous clashes with police.
Italian police fired tear gas at Italian protesters in the square in front of Milan's Gothic cathedral, after rioters allegedly threw stones at officers, France 24 reported.
Protesters in Milan also gathered in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - a luxury shopping centre. Shop owners put down their shutters and tourists appeared to flee the central area as the clashes turned violent, with the central Duomo metro station being temporarily closed.
Several people were reported to be injured and a number of arrests were made, according to Italian media.
Protesters clashed with French police as they demonstrated in Nantes, western France, on Saturday
French police push a burning rubbish bin set alight by protesters away in Nantes
A protester holds a placard reading 'Youth in struggle, system in collapse' in front of a burning barricade in Paris on Saturday
Meanwhile, in Brussels, demonstrators were seen standing on an overturned car during a students' protest in Belgium, inspired by the demonstrations in France.
Several hundred people, mostly youngsters, took to the streets of the capital on Saturday.
They also clashed with police as they protested against rising education costs and reforms which many believe could make higher education less accessible.
In Paris, protesters were seen throwing baguettes at riot police, as the protests quickly descended into violence.
A tourist office and cars were set on fire by rioters in France, who took to the streets to protest in their hundreds of thousands, including 110,000 in Paris alone.
French police responded with tear gas and water cannons and made more than a thousand arrests.
France's Yellow Vest activists joined student protesters, with some of the worst violence was in the eastern city of Lyon, where a tourist office was set on fire by a violent gang.
In Bordeaux, a video circulated on social media showing the upmarket Galeries Lafayette, which had been recently renovated, being stormed by hundreds of protesters.
In other videos, shopworkers were seen watching on helplessly as looters destroyed the aisles and appeared to fill bags with stolen goods.
A protester runs past a burning car amid clashes in Paris on Saturday
Protesters wearing balaclavas and dressed in all black were pictured holding baguettes as they clashed with police on the streets
A man wearing goggles and a balaclava storms past a police van in Nice, southern France
A police officer attempts to extinguish a burning trash bin during a demonstration in Nantes, France
